Harassment, stalking, threats and attacks targeting New Zealand politicians: a mental health issue

The harassment of politicians has significant psychosocial costs for both the victim and the perpetrator and represents an opportunity for mental health intervention. Abstract Objective: Due to the nature of their work, politicians are at greater risk of stalking, harassment and attack than the general population. The small, but significantly elevated risk of violence to politicians is predominantly due not to organised terrorism or politically motivated extremists but to fixated individuals with untreated serious mental disorders, usually psychosis. Our objective was to ascertain the frequency, nature and effects of unwanted harassment of politicians in New Zealand and the possible role of mental illness in this harassment. Methods: New Zealand Members of Parliament were surveyed, with an 84% response rate (n = 102). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected on Parliamentarians’ experiences of harassment and stalking. Results: Eighty-seven percent of politicians reported unwanted harassment ranging from disturbing communications to physical violence, with most experiencing harassment in multiple modalities and on multiple occasions. Cyberstalking and other forms of online harassment were common, and politicians felt they (and their families) had become more exposed as a result of the Internet. Half of MPs had been personally approached by their harassers, 48% had been directly threatened and 15% had been attacked. Some of these incidents were serious, involving weapons such as guns, Molotov cocktails and blunt instruments. One in three politicians had been targeted at their homes. Respondents believed the majority of those responsible for the harassment exhibited signs of mental illness. Conclusion: The harassment of politicians in New Zealand is common and concerning. Many of those responsible were thought to be mentally ill by their victims. This harassment has significant psychosocial costs for both the victim and the perpetrator and represents an opportunity for mental health intervention

Out Online: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth on the Internet

This report examines the online experiences of LGBT students in 6-12th grade. LGBT youth experience nearly three times as much bullying and harassment online as non-LGBT youth, but also find greater peer support, access to health information and opportunities to be civically engaged

Facilitating TILTing as a Faculty Community

In this paper, we describe our perspectives and experiences working as one of several small groups within a campus-wide program at our university to help implement transparency in learning and teaching (TILT) principles. Faculty were asked to implement TILT into lower-and upper-level courses, as well as co-curricular activities, by transforming some aspect of their course or activities to be more transparent, meaning students would be able to better understand its purpose and value and how it relates to their major, future career, and personal lives. The program followed a faculty learning community (FLC) model, where members supported one another through the process and the active participants shared, in addition to a deliverable in the form of a TILTed course element, a written reflection. All participants received monetary compensation for the work completed in the summer, 2021 period. Our group consists of one faculty member from the campus’ TILT Steering Committee serving in the role of facilitator and five faculty members serving in the role of active participants who hold various ranks across five departments within four colleges

Agent-based simulation of a financial market

This paper introduces an agent-based artificial financial market in which heterogeneous agents trade one single asset through a realistic trading mechanism for price formation. Agents are initially endowed with a finite amount of cash and a given finite portfolio of assets. There is no money-creation process; the total available cash is conserved in time. In each period, agents make random buy and sell decisions that are constrained by available resources, subject to clustering, and dependent on the volatility of previous periods. The model herein proposed is able to reproduce the leptokurtic shape of the probability density of log price returns and the clustering of volatility. Implemented using extreme programming and object-oriented technology, the simulator is a flexible computational experimental facility that can find applications in both academic and industrial research projects.Comment: 11 pages, 3 EPS figures, LaTEX. To be published in Physica A (Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Application of Physics in Economic Modelling, Prague 8-10 February 2001

Treatment sequences and prognostic/predictive factors in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: univariate and multivariate analyses of a real-world study in Europe

Metastatic; Pancreatic cancer; Prognostic factorsMetastàtica; Càncer de pàncrees; Factors pronòsticsMetastásico; Cáncer de páncreas; Factores pronósticosBackground Real-world data on treatment patterns/outcomes for metastatic pancreatic cancer (mPAC) are limited. This study aims to assess real-world treatment patterns, survival outcomes, and prognostic/predictive factors in patients with mPAC. Methods Retrospective, observational, chart-review involving medical oncologists and gastroenterologists from five European countries. Physicians reported information on disease and patient characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment for patients diagnosed with mPAC from January-October 2016. Outcomes included median progression-free survival (mPFS), median overall survival (mOS), and the impact of baseline performance status on survival. Univariate/multivariate regression analyses were undertaken to identify prognostic/predictive factors. Results Three hundred four physicians and 3432 patients were included. First-line therapies included modified (m)FOLFIRINOX (28.4%), gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel (28.0%), and gemcitabine monotherapy (23.0%). Frequent second-line therapies were gemcitabine monotherapy (25.0%), fluorouracil (5-FU) + oxaliplatin (21.8%), and gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel (16.7%). Most frequent first- to second-line treatment sequences were gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel followed by fluoropyrimidine combinations. Longest unadjusted estimated mOS was observed with (m)FOLFIRINOX followed by gemcitabine-based combinations (19.1 months). Multivariate analysis identified significant prognostic/predictive factors for OS and PFS including performance status and carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (CA 19–9) levels. Conclusions Treatment and treatment sequences were generally in accordance with guidelines at the time of the study. Identification of prognostic/predictive factors for survival may help inform the individualised management of mPAC patients in the future.The chart review was funded by Institut de Recherches Internationales, Servier, France

Cultural/Interpersonal Values and Smoking in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Southern California Adolescents

In ethnically diverse school contexts, values from multiple cultures might influence adolescents\u27 attitudes and behaviors. This study developed scales to assess cultural values among Southern California 6- grade adolescents (N=2281) and evaluated the associations between values and smoking. The scales assessed values salient in many Hispanic and Asian cultures: Respect for Adults (e.g., filial piety, respeto). Interpersonal Harmony (e.g., saving face, simpatia), and Differentiated Gender Roles (e.g., machismo). In cross-sectional and one-year longitudinal models. Respect for Adults and Interpersonal Harmony were associated with a lower risk of lifetime smoking. The associations were significant even after controlling for demographic characteristics, friends\u27 smoking, and parents\u27 smoking, indicating that values influence adolescents\u27 behavior over and above the effects of modeling and peer influence. Increased understanding of adolescents\u27 values could inform the creation of smoking prevention programs for ethnically diverse adolescents

Level of Care Preferences Among Nursing Home Residents With Advanced Dementia

Delivering goal-directed care is a hallmark of high-quality palliative care, but requires an understanding of preferences